Review Summary: Solid rock, but not the flare of traditional Stone Temple Pilots
Honestly what can you say about Stone Temple Pilots at this point? They've been through hell and back many a time, and are still having to make daring decisions, such as the firing of longtime bandmate, frontman, and founder Scott Weiland. They gave him the boot for his drug habit a few times before, and are presently fed up with his choice to go on tour with his side-project instead of taking time to write with STP.
To fire such a pillar of a bandmate should seem like an erratic decision for such a small penalty, considering their forgiveness of his sins in the past. With the release of their self-titled album, it seemed the Deleo brothers, Kretz, and Weiland were all a happy family again, but his drunk behavior and performance errors during live shows drove the rest of the guys pretty nuts as well.
But this is just too harsh of a move to make, to continue under the name of Stone Temple Pilots with a different lead singer (from another major label band). Weiland was no doubt a loved and crucial piece of STP, and without his presence, it's difficult to call this Stone Temple Pilots. Maybe if they recruited a vocalist somewhat similar to Weiland's agony-filled grunge style, it wouldn't feel as awkward, but the band went with Chester Bennington of Linkin Park; a clean-cut intellectual with a completely different vocal range that just doesn't play the same sport as Weiland's. Where Scott shouted and sang raspily, Bennington sticks to his light-as-a-feather singing that is easily recognizable from big Linkin Park tracks. Much of the music remains in tact, Kretz beats the snares as good as ever, the Deleos' interplay is beyond stellar, and Bennington isn't a bad vocalist by any means. The music sounds like Stone Temple Pilots circa 1999-2001, but Bennington's differing vocal style is a potent influence against this actually being a Stone Temple Pilots cut.
"Out of Time" the lead single, runs on a fast-paced upbeat melody that is clearly the work of the Deleo brothers, but nothing too new. It could work very well, but Bennington's attempt to hold a steady "Yeeaaahhh.." on the chorus in light of Weiland sounds nasally and ultimately makes the track feel for lack of a better word "nerdy." "Black Heart" carries on the semi-southern twist that was founded on "Huckleberry Crumble" from their self-titled record, and Bennington performs a tad better, given STP doesn't have a huge load of material like this, so there isn't really a manifested signature sound for it with Weiland singing.
"Same on the Inside" is a good jam, with plenty of layered guitars a` la Dean Deleo. The song also features bass riffs from Robert Deleo that bring nostalgia for STP's older works. The major downfall, is that this fresh material could be utilized even better under the voice of Weiland. "Cry Cry" works well for Bennington in the same way "Black Heart" does, with a dash of Southern flare, and insertions of non-traditional STP mechanics, such as tambourines, staccato guitars, and much classier guitar solos; all newer implementations of the band that Bennington has room to expand on. Once again however, this cut is quite distant from being a genuine STP song. "Tomorrow" closes the EP by delivering another song like "Same on the Inside," that is done well in light of good old-fashioned STP work, but is spoiled by the absence of Weiland and replacement of Bennington.
This is more of an opportunity to start something new under a different name than the Pilots seem to realize. In order for a formula changed this drastically to prevail, they would have to reach out to a new audience, and garnering a brand new following would be a difficult task for a band that has already established years of production under this name. Many fans will not find the absence of Weiland appealing, and thus they'll need a new base, but that doesn't seem very likely.
Negatives of no Weiland aside, it's a solid alternative-rock EP that could do a lot more under a different name.
